One Hell of a 'Game'
by candlewriter
Summary: I didn't need to look up from my book to know that the girls around me had moved away as if I were diseased. This was it. I had been sentenced too my death and there was nothing I could do to change it. Cato/Reader / Cato/OC (Mildly AU)
1. Introduction

I was entirely engrossed in my book. It was old and the pages were worn, it was a tale from before Panem called "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" and even hundreds, possibly even thousands of years later it was still humorous. I snickered at the simplicity of the main character, Arthur Dent. In some ways I related to him, a completely normal person (by human standards) thrown into a crazy situation. In a sense that's how I felt about the Hunger Games.

Coming from District 4, an apparent 'career district', we're expected to have a certain amount of excitement and pride that for some reason revolves around senselessly sending children to their deaths. Call me crazy but I don't feel an ounce of pride watching kids slaughter one another and come out as an empty shell of a human. But being 17 I'm forced to stand amongst the other children and teens knowing that two of us will be hugging our friends and family goodbye for the last time.

Unlike the rest of District 4 I didn't spend my life outside on the docks or at the beach and I didn't care much for socialising while catching fish. We're taught from a young age how to use nets and tridents to catch fish and I was no special case I went through the same thing everyone else did, in fact I was top of the class. Although at the age of 7 I came to a realisation that this was not what I wanted to do for a living. Honestly I don't even like fish. So I strategically started to work less and less. I went from top of the class, to mediocre, to hopeless. Eventually they decided to place my talents "elsewhere". I didn't have the physical strength to gut fish in the factories, I couldn't prepare food for shit, in the eyes of District 4 I was practically hopeless. But what they could never deny and I refused to hide is that I am one hell of a swimmer. My father had most certainly clocked on to my plan and instead of ratting me out to the higher ups, he suggested I become a swimming instructor. I spent 5 days a week teaching kids and even some adults swimming techniques, the rest of my time I was holed up in my bedroom or in the old archives. The archives were rarely visited, most citizens of District 4 preferring to spend their time out in the sun, but I guess that's why I liked it. It was the one place I felt truly at peace and alone.

I briefly looked up at the people around me, recognising some of the terrified faces as students I've taught. I bit my lip and returned to my book as though it would somehow save me and transport me to the fictional world. Of course, it didn't. I paid no attention to the brightly dressed woman on stage as she showed the soul crushingly boring video they play every year. I paid no attention as she called out the name of a 12 year old boy who almost certainly not be making it home. I paid no attention as she made her way over to the bowl containing the names of all the girls aged 12-18 in District 4. I paid no attention as the slightly blue tinted skin of her hand pulled out a slip of paper.

"Billie Thorne!" She squealed out in joy. Now that… That I did pay attention to. I didn't need to look up from my book to know that the girls around me had moved away as if I were diseased. This was it. I had been sentenced too my death and there was nothing I could do to change it. My heart completely dropped and it felt like the air in my lungs just wasn't enough. I knew I would start to cry if I looked up at the sympathetic yet relieved faces of the people around me, so I kept my eyes glued to the pages of my book as I sheepishly stepped forward. Miraculously, I made my way over to the steps of the stage without falling on my face. I guess that counted for something. I was about to take my first step up the stairs when a man dressed in all white held me back with the end of his gun. A peacekeeper.

I tore my eyes up and away from "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" to look at him, and as I did he snatched the book out of my hands, ripping some of the pages as he did so. I quietly yelped at the harshness and glared at the peacekeeper, trying to seem as threatening as I could given my current circumstance and the fact that he has a gun and could literally end my life where I stood. But he walked away completely unaffected with my now torn book in his hands. What an asshole.

I finally made my way up to the stage to stand by the bright and cheerful woman. My plain grey dress suddenly felt drab. It was baggy on me and probably looked more like I had just thrown a potato sack on my body and stuck my arms through the sides. Now that I'm being broadcasted to all of Panem I regret not making myself look just a little more presentable, but growing up on the streets this was about as 'presentable' as I could get. I finally looked down at my fellow District 4 tribute and my face dropped. Jacob. I knew this boy, he was my neighbour and I often babysat him when his father worked late. Much like mine, his mother had died during childbirth. I taught him how to read and write when he was 3, I made sure he did his homework each night, I made sure he ate all that was put on his plate and was grateful for it, I became a replacement mother in a sense, despite only being a few years his senior. I felt my heart drop once more knowing that he would have to die in order for me to survive and I couldn't let that happen. There goes my shred of hope for survival.

I looked down at Jacob's outstretched hand and remembered tributes had to shake hands. As I grabbed it he shocked me by pulling me in for a tight hug, by instinct I hugged him back. In that moment I felt the rest of Panem hold their breath. This year it would be one hell of a game.

* * *

 _ **This was intended to be a Reader X Cato story however it's against the rules of FFN. I have used the name Billie as it's simple however I won't give her much of a visual description so you can still imagine her as either yourself or your OC.**_

 _ **I do not own The Hunger Games trilogy. All I own are my ideas and any original characters featured in this story.**_

 _ **Story also posted on Ao3 under the same title and the user "candlewriter"**_

 _ **Also find me on tumblr at "candlewriter" for updates on chapter progress, FAQ, fanart and more.**_


	2. Chapter 1

Jacob and I had to physically be pried apart from our hug much to the displeasure of the brightly coloured woman, whose name I had yet to actually learn, and peacekeepers. They didn't like tributes to actually show emotion, it reminded people that we have feelings and emotions too and forcing us into an arena to kill one another isn't the most humane thing to do. I had heard rumours that in District 10, the livestock district, they had to put a stop to people betting on cock fights. They claimed that it wasn't acceptable to put two animals in a ring and have them fight to the death for the amusement of onlookers. Isn't that ironic?

We were rushed into separate rooms and for a minute or two I was alone. I could have really used a book in that moment but after inspecting the room there was nothing of the sort. There wasn't really anything at all other than a table, a couple of chairs, and some broken netting in the corner that had probably been discarded here after someone had earnt enough money to have it replaced. Although I did entertain the idea that it was used to hold freshly reaped tributes full of rage. Perhaps I should wrap it around myself and plead insanity? No, there were plenty of insane people in the games, that wouldn't stop them it would only make it more entertaining in their eyes. I shivered at the memory of the District 2 victor who had literally torn someone's throat out with her sharpened teeth. If they let her into the games they would most certainly let me if I just wrapped some netting around my body and spoke in tongues. Besides, I had to be there for Jacob.

I sat atop the table, ignoring the perfectly good chairs and swung my legs around, waiting. I had no clue what exactly I was waiting for but I knew I wasn't put into the room to stay there forever so logically I must have been waiting for something, but what? A last meal maybe? No they would feed me at the Capitol, it was part of their marketing strategy that the 'lucky' tributes get to taste Capitol food and the luxuries for the first (and last) time.

My answer came when the door swung open and my father rushed in, his face red and puffy and I couldn't tell if it was from rage or if he had just been crying. My father didn't cry when my mother passed away when I was younger, he didn't cry when his own father had passed away last year, so I doubted that he would cry now for me. Studying his face closer, I saw no tracks of tears running down his aging face, although his eyes were completely full of despair. In one move he hugged me close and I struggled to hold back my own tears. I wasn't quite as strong as my father but I tried to take after him as much as I could and kept my eyes dry. We both knew that this would inevitably be the last time we saw one another.

Eventually we parted and he looked me in the eyes. "I know I can't persuade you to put yourself first." He sighed, a ghost of a smile on his lips. "Because I know you Billie and you'll put that little boy first. I know you're going to try your fucking hardest to bring that kid home and I believe in you. You're strong and you're stubborn. You can do this." I cracked my own sad smile. My dad always told me off for swearing, I guess this is his way of saying 'screw it, life's too short' and the reality of that old saying hit me. Life was too short, and for me it was about to be cut even shorter.

"Dad I-" I choked out but I couldn't find the right words to say. Words just didn't seem necessary anymore.

"Do me proud kiddo, I believe in you." He hugged me one last time before making his way out of the door he entered from.

Shortly afterwards, a familiar man entered. He was very teary eyed and tightly clutched a handkerchief in the palm of his hand. I knew him to be Jacob's dad. He looked completely distraught and I wasn't sure what to do, I had never been good at comforting people older than me. It was easy with the younger ones, you could usually just give them something sweet and all their troubles are suddenly forgotten. But with adults it was difficult as the problems are usually more firmly rooted and are a little more serious than someone stealing your toy and not giving it back.

I watched as Jacob's dad kept on opening his mouth to say something but all that came out were sobs, it was a heartbreaking sight. His son was the last family he had and now they were trying to take him away, but I wouldn't let that happen, I couldn't let that happen.

"I'll protect him until the very end." I whispered, trying to phrase my words appropriately. I'm not one to break promises so I wasn't about to promise that his son will return home alive, but I was going to try my hardest to make sure that he does. I wanted to make it as clear as I could that I would die for him without using those actual words. The broken man in front of me nodded quickly and stuttered out a "thank you" before leaving. I didn't blame him for not wanting to stick around to talk to the teenage girl who held the safety of his son in her hands. I probably wouldn't want to talk to me either.

Once again I was alone in the room although this time I roughly knew what I was waiting for. The goodbyes had been said and there was nothing more that they could squeeze out of District 4 before they left. So I just sat there, waiting for them to take me away to the Capitol and to my inevitable death. Surprisingly I was okay with that. I knew I would be called weak for admitting my defeat before the games had begun but it was so someone who had so much more to give to the world could win, and I was at peace with that.

The blue skinned lady finally returned to take me away to the train, I still didn't know her name and I figured it would be rude to ask now so I'd have to keep an ear out and wait for someone else to say it. Not that I've ever cared much about how I'm perceived by people and if someone thinks I'm rude or not, but I figured it wouldn't be wise to piss off one of the only people who may be able to help me win over sponsors.

I was practically dragged onto the train despite the fact that I would have walked willingly. Jacob was already there waiting for us on a cream coloured plush sofa. I automatically made my way over and sat down next to him, he moved closer to me and rested his head on my shoulder while the colourful woman rattled on about how amazing the capitol trains are and that they travel at 250 miles per hour yet you barely feel like you're moving at all. What useful information to know in the arena.

It didn't go unnoticed to me when a man made his way into the train carriage. He made his way over to Jacob and I and lifted my hand, planting a kiss on the end of it.

"Finnick Odair." He announced with a grin. Of course I knew who he was, I didn't live under a rock. However unlike the countless of girls who would fall at his feet I refused to react to his charms, my face stayed emotionless and cold. Finnick raised an eyebrow and took a step back, releasing my hand. "Well aren't you a ray of sunshine?"

"My apologies for not being absolutely ecstatic while being transported to my certain death." My voice dripped with sarcasm and I felt Jacob tense up next to me at my words and I threw him an apologetic look, wrapping my arm comfortingly around his shoulder. He was too sweet and innocent for this.

"I take it you two know one another?" Finnick asked with a smirk, sitting down on the sofa parallel to us. The colourful woman was sat in the corner of the room at the table, helping herself to the unusual array of food and drinks.

"No. I have a terrible habit of hugging complete strangers." I rolled my eyes and Jacob chuckled slightly which lifted my spirits a little.

"You should probably get a grip of that before you head into the arena." Finnick fired back with a grin. I wanted nothing more than to slap that smug look off of his pretty face. "It's Billie and Jacob, right?" We hesitantly responded with nods. "So tell me, what are your talents? What would help you in the games?" I nudged Jacob and urged him to say first.

"I uh.. I'm okay with tridents.." He whispered, he's always been quite shy and reserved, we'd have to try to change that. "But I'm better at tying knots and making traps with nets." Finnick nodded in understanding and turned to me.

"I swim." I simply stated, not wanting to give him any more information.

"Is that it? You don't use tridents or spears to fish..?" The mentor questioned with what was either concern or disappointment, possibly confusion.

"I don't fish." I responded bluntly, Jacob let out another little chuckle but I think this time it was more of a nervous one.

"Nonsense!" The tinted blue skinned woman proclaimed, standing up from her place at the table. "Everyone in District 4 fishes! You're the fishing district!" She announced proudly as though we didn't already know that.

"Maybe if you actually spent more than 30 minutes a year here to sentence children to death you'd realise that not everyone in District 4 fishes." I hissed out, her face slowly turns what would have probably been red with rage but due to her modifications it was more purple.

"Why I-!" She began to protest, clearly completely outraged at my accusations.

"She has a point Bluebell." Finnick interrupted. So her name was Bluebell. How fitting. "So is that really it?" He turned back to me and I nodded briefly. Of course it wasn't it. I was a little out of practise but I had been top of the class at one point, not to mention being a swimming instructor has left me in pretty good shape.

"She's really strong and fast!" Jacob suddenly burst out, sitting up. I elbowed him to get him to stop, but he carried on. "She's also really flexible! She gets us all to do yoga to warm up before swimming lessons!"

"So you're a swimming instructor?" Finnick raised his eyebrow and smirked. "Okay.. okay.. We can work with this." He nodded with a smug little smirk. "So yoga? Mind showing me some time?" He winked at me but I just scowled in response.

"In your dreams." I growled, standing up to go and find my room, our mentor stood up as I did and took a hold of my arm.

"Trust me, it will be." He flirted and sent a wink my way. Instead of entertaining him with a response I just carried on walking, making my way through the carriage to where I assumed my room would be.

Sure enough there was a room towards the end of the carriage and to the right with a label saying "4 Girl" and opposite was one saying "4 Boy" how creative. I quietly and carefully opened the door as though there would be a tribute in there already waiting to kill me. But there was nothing waiting for me but a large pure white bedroom with a bathroom and a walk in closet attached. I wasn't usually one to care about how I looked but compared to the rest of the train, my grey dress just looked positively horrid so I made my way over to the closet. There were more clothes than I had probably owned in my life, all in different sizes. I picked a plain black top and some light grey sweatpants, despite being casual they looked more glamorous than anything I've ever owned, and they were so soft. I flopped over onto the bed, hugging the silk sheets close to my body. Hey if I was going to die in a week or so I might as well enjoy the little bit of luxury while I could.

I must have dozed off because the next thing I knew Jacob was standing over me prodding my sides. I slapped his hands away and he laughed.

"Come on Billie! Come get some food! It's so good!" He gushed and started to try to drag me out of bed. "Bluebell also said we'll be in the Capitol in an hour.." He suddenly seemed less energetic and excited, remembering why we were here and our inevitable fate. No. MY inevitable fate. I would do anything to save this boy.

"Come on buddy, let's go!" I cheered and slipped off of the bed. I knelt down and he hopped onto my back, something we were used to doing back at home and just felt natural. I carried him along to the main carriage on my back, Bluebell rolled her eyes at the pair of us and Finnick just smiled sadly, knowing that at most only one of us would be coming home and either way we'll be separated.

We settled down at the table and I grabbed a few items of food, my eyes widening at the variety. It was nothing like the plain old salty bread we have at home.

"Don't eat too much, we don't want you to slow the horses down with your weight at the parade." Bluebell said with a condescending tone, simultaneously we all glared at her and she very quickly got down off of her high horse and shut up.

"So usually at the parade District 4 are dressed as fish.." Finnick informed us and I deadpanned. There was a line and I was drawing it.

"I'm not being a fucking fish." I sighed, Bluebell's jaw dropped at my language but thankfully she seemed to have been rendered speechless by it.

"I agree, you're too pretty for a fish." Finnick winked at me and I scowled, once again turning down his attempts at flirting. Jacob let out a snort as though he were holding back laughter, I turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow.

"What's that Jakey? Do you not think I'm pretty?" I teased and prodded his side, he finally let out the chuckles he had been holding from us.

"N-No I just-" He could barely get his words out between his bursts of laughter. "I'm imagining you as a fish." With those words I started giggling hysterically along with him, Finnick joined us not long after and I think even Bluebell cracked a pearly white smile or two.

It took us a good ten minutes to regain our composure and get back to the conversation at hand.

"So what's the plan if we're not fish?" I quizzed our mentor, who just smiled back knowingly.

"Well my dear, that's for me to know and you to find out." He grabbed my hand and attempted to kiss it like he had when we were first introduced but I pulled it back from him and he ended up kissing his own palm, an action that send Jacob into another fit of hysterics. I looked over at him fondly and I knew I was making the right choice in deciding to sacrifice my life for his if and when the time came. He had so much to live for, he was shy and reserved around strangers but once you knew him boy was it tough to get him to shut up. He was a ray of sunshine and I refused to believe he had a bad bone in his body.

"Could I speak to you alone please Billie?" Finnick spoke up, suddenly looking very serious which was quite concerning. Jacob let out a wolf whistle and I narrowed my eyes at the younger boy.

"Hey no! You shouldn't even have those types of thoughts you are a baby! No!" I scolded him, but he just smirked in response knowing that there was nothing I could do about it. After glaring him down for a few seconds I followed Finnick, suddenly realising he was making his way to my designated bedroom. My eyes widened as I realised that Jacob's joke may not have been so far from the truth and I slowed down considerably. Rolling his eyes at this, Finnick grabbed my hand and pulled me into my bedroom and sat me on the bed.

"We need to talk." He said sternly, I wasn't used to this level of seriousness from him and it tied my stomach in knots.

"Are you breaking up with me?" I tried to lighten the mood with a joke, he smiled slightly but it didn't change the level of tension in the air.

"You plan to put Jacob ahead of yourself, don't you?" He questioned, the answer was obvious yet I couldn't bring myself to say it so I just drew my attention to my feet on the floor. "You plan to sacrifice your life for his.."

"You can't change my mind." I whispered, not even certain myself of the words coming out of my mouth, yet I carried on. "I made a promise that I would do everything I could to bring him home, and I have never broken a promise."

"I understand." My mentor nodded in response and placed a gentle hand on my arm. I hadn't noticed that I was shaking until then. "When the time comes, you'll know what to do." With that last ominous statement he left me alone in my room.

* * *

 ** _This was intended to be a Reader X Cato story however it's against the rules of FFN. I have used the name Billie as it's simple however I won't give her much of a visual description so you can still imagine her as either yourself or your OC._**

 _ **The decision to not describe how Jacob looks has been purposeful, I want you to all be able to imagine him however you want.**_

 _ **I do not own The Hunger Games trilogy. All I own are my ideas and any original characters featured in this story.**_

 _ **Story also posted on Ao3 under the same title and the user "candlewriter"**_

 _ **Also find me on tumblr at "candlewriter" for updates on chapter progress, FAQ, fanart and more.**_


	3. Chapter 2

After our chat, I followed Finnick out back to the main carriage. Bluebell gleefully announced that we would be watching the reruns of the reapings. As much as I wanted to protest and just get some more sleep I figured it would probably be in my favour to size up the rest of the competition. I was usually a pretty good judge of character so I could hopefully pick out who would be useful in a possible alliance, or who would have to be taken out first. I didn't like the idea of having to kill other tributes, but I would do anything it takes to get Jacob home safely.

The reapings started with Caesar Flickerman and Claudius Templesmith commentating and pointing out even the most miniscule detail about the tributes. District 1 produced two volunteers, which was unsurprising. The male wore a confident smirk as though he had already won the games, and the girl was incredibly pretty. In other circumstances I would have probably crushed pretty hard on her, but here she was the competition and the difference between life and death. Judging by the way she carried herself she was probably also a major bitch which was always a turn off.

The tributes from District 2 also volunteered. The girl looked small yet deadly, she looked like one of those kids who would crush bugs in the school playground to feel superior and I shuddered at the idea of the bugs being other tributes. She would definitely be one to stay away from and hope that someone else takes her out before I have to. The male tribute.. Oh boy. He was twice the size of the girl, not just in height but also in pure muscle mass. He looked too confident for his own good, which I prayed would be his downfall because there was no way I'd be able to take him out in a fight. His muscles rippled through his slightly too tight t-shirt and I could have sworn I drooled. Finnick, noticing this smirked and nudged me.

"Guess we know your type now." He whispered, you could hear the smugness in his voice. Was I really making my attraction to the District 2 tribute that obvious? Fucking hell I wasn't even face to face with him. "You're a cute girl, you might be able to play the lust card, get him wrapped around your pinky finger. Be sexy." I shook my head. I didn't do 'lust' and I certainly didn't do 'sexy'.

"Buddy I'm about as sexy as a disease ridden rat in a bikini." I informed him trying to keep my voice low enough so Jacob couldn't hear the conversation. I had planned to have the talk about the birds and the bees at one point with him, especially since he had been attracting the attention of some of the girls back at home, and no one else was around to do it, but now was not the time. Maybe I should ask Finnick to explain it to him after he won. I turned back to look at our mentor who was wiggling his eyebrows and darting his gaze between the District 2 boy on the screen and myself, all the while making rather inappropriate hand gestures…

On second thoughts maybe I should leave it up to Jake's teachers to tell him about the birds and the bees and hope they do a good enough job.

The District 3 reapings were pretty standard. The kids looked young and frail as they struggled to hold back their tears and I felt the overwhelming urge to protect them. I shook my head and remembered that my primary task was to protect Jacob, however I couldn't help but hope that I'd be able to help out all the other younger tributes, they were too young for this.

Then came the recap of our reapings. I watched as Jacob's name was called and he crept his way up onto the stage, tears in his eyes. I heard the distinctive sound of his father crying in anguish and it helped me focus on my task of keeping the little boy safe. Shortly afterwards I watched as my name was called out. Finnick chuckled lightly as I practically hissed at the peacekeeper taking my book away, I looked surprisingly threatening for a small little bookworm and I just hoped that the other tributes saw it that way so they would back off a little.

The hug looked a lot shorter than it felt but it conveyed exactly what I had wanted it to, that I was going to protect him, and I was proud of that.

The rest of the reapings were standard, lots of young children who my heart went out for just knowing that they've all been sentenced to their deaths while their families watch as it's broadcasted live on television. It truly was disgusting. The girl from 5 stood out a little, she seemed calm and collected compared to her district partner. She would be a good contender for an alliance, but something tells me she's a lone wolf.

The pair from District 11 also caught my eye. The boy was massive and looked incredibly threatening, but the way he looked at the young girl who can't have been older than Jacob made it clear that he wasn't quite as aggressive as he was trying to come across as. The young girl completely broke my heart, her doe eyes made her look so sweet and innocent, I felt the need to reach through the screen to hug her.

However the real standout was the girl from District 12. My breath hitched when she volunteered in place of her young sister. In that moment I decided that if something were to happen to me, I would want her to take over the protection of Jacob. I didn't know how I was going to do it, but I would somehow figure it out.

Once the reapings were over I returned back to my room and filtered through the closet to try and find something a little less casual for when we arrived in the Capitol. I eventually found a sea blue dress that reached the floor yet still looked casual. I wasn't one for dresses usually, I only wore them on reaping days, but it was better to make a good impression on the Capitol citizens.

I got dressed and tried to make my hair look vaguely tame and presentable, but I gave up after a couple of minutes. Hopefully the stylists would be more successful.

"Five more minutes!" Bluebell screeched, running down the carriage, clearly stressed out by the fact that Jacob and I weren't out of our rooms and waiting by the doors, ready to face and impress the Capitol.

About 2 minutes later I left my room at almost the exact same time as Jacob. "You ready kiddo?" I asked, giving him an unsure smile. He slowly shook his head and looked down at his feet, his face riddled with nervousness. "Good because neither am I and I don't want to be the only one." I joked, he cracked a small smile but didn't laugh. My hand met his as I guided him down the carriage and to the doors next to Bluebell who was bobbing up and down in anticipation.

"Oh I can't wait to see your faces when you see the Capitol for the first time! This is one of the best parts!" She gushed, clearly the only one excited about it. Jacob squeezed my hand and I squeezed his back reassuringly. We both knew roughly what to expect from the Capitol, and Finnick had gone over our 'angle' with us at least 5 times in the past hour. I was supposed to be the protective mother figure, which was easy for me, while Jacob would be the sweet and gentlemanly little boy who wants to take on the role of protecting me. He could easily do that too.

The train slowly came to a halt and Bluebell squealed. "Three.. Two.. One.." She eagerly counted down the seconds until the doors opened. The light was blinding and the cheers from the Capitol citizens were near deafening, I was suddenly aware of Finnick's presence behind us. His hands were placed on mine and Jacob's lower backs and he used them to urge us forwards and down the steps to meet our potential sponsors. I held my head high and kept a straight face, my hand still intertwined with my young district partner's hopefully conveying a motherly sense of pride. Jacob waved sheepishly at the brightly coloured women screaming his name, bless him he already had fangirls. However this was less cute and more concerning when I remembered what the Capitol had done to Finnick as soon as he had come of age. My hand instinctively let go of Jacob's and I instead wrapped my arm around him protectively, the cheering only getting louder as I did so.

"You two did great." Finnick whispered behind us as we were pushed towards the car waiting to take us deeper into the Capitol.

Once the car arrived at it's destination we were immediately rushed to a building Bluebell excitedly called the "Remake Centre" as Jacob and I exchanged nervous glances. We were led down a variety of pure white hallways and were eventually separated to which I protested greatly especially since Jacob got Finnick while I was left with Bluebell. Queen bitch herself just hissed at me to "save the motherly attachment for the sponsors" and I quite literally hissed back at her, much like a cat.

Two women and one man took me away from her thankfully and ordered me to strip down and put on the a blue apron-type gown which laid on what resembled a hospital bed. I looked at them cautiously but figured it was best to do what they say without arguments, I didn't want them calling Bluebell back in. They laid me down on the bed and got to work spreading cold gel over my scars and any blemishes that may be considered 'imperfections'. They plucked practically every single hair off of my body save for my eyelashes, the hair on my head, and most of my eyebrows, while I gritted my teeth and tried to pretend I didn't feel anything. Once satisfied with that they pushed me into a shower so I could clean my hair and wash the gel off of my body which I was shocked to have discovered had completely rid me of all scars and other marks of that calibre. I felt raw, like a plain piece of paper ready to be written on.

After finishing my shower the three stylists, who had never actually formally introduced themselves or said anything to me other than brief commands like "stop moving" and "lift your left leg", told me to lay back down onto the bed before departing the room. I anxiously awaited what would be coming next and I was startled by the voice of a man whom I had not seen before and quickly sat up to look at him. He had almost orange tinted skin but I couldn't quite tell if it were a genetic modification or just a bad spray tan. Whatever it was it complimented his sleek red hair with matching red stubble, and his piercing gold eyes. He studied me as though I were a piece of artwork and gave me a small, gentle smile.

"Finnick was right, you would have made a horrible fish." I didn't know if I should take offence to this or not but the man seemed nice enough so I figured it was worth taking it as a compliment. "I'm Domenico, however you can call me Dom." Much like Finnick had when we first met, Dom picked up my hand and placed a light kiss on the back of it, however it was much less flirtatious than my mentor's had been.

"Billie.." I introduced myself, however I was certain that he already knew who I was. "If I'm not a fish, what am I going to be?" He smiled knowingly.

"You'll just have to wait and see, won't you? Now close your eyes and lay down, let me do my job."

I felt incredibly embarrassed as I was gently shaken awake. Dom had been so gentle while getting my hair and makeup ready that I had quite literally fallen asleep, but he was smiling sweetly at me so I hoped that meant he didn't mind.

"Come on sleeping beauty, why don't you see what you look like?" He gestured over to a full length mirror in the corner of the room. Slowly I slid off of the bed and went to study my appearance. It sounds so cheesy but I almost didn't recognise myself. My hair was styled with natural looking beach waves, the ends had a slight ombre of light pink and blue as I moved my head. Small pearls and shells were woven into my hair as well as strategically spotted over the side of my face and all over my arms. My makeup looked fairly natural aside from the lipstick which seemed to shimmer with all the colours in the rainbow when it caught the light. For once in my life I could admit to myself that I looked beautiful. I struggled to contain my grin, not wanting extreme facial expressions to damage the look. It faltered when I turned around and saw the costume Dom held in his hands.

"No." I simply protested. He held a bra where the cups had been fashioned to look like light pink and blue shells and what looked like a long skirt made of a fabric that gave the same shimmering effect that my lipstick did.

"Please?" He begged softly and let out a small pout. I couldn't say no to that face. With a huff I took the outfit out of his hands and made my way to the changing room. Sorry dad but sex sells and ya girl has got to show a little bit of skin for the sponsors.

I was guided by a pair of Avoxes back through the maze of pristine hallways, passing many people who I recognised as previous victors and tributes I would soon be fighting against. I caught the eye of the boy from District 1 who looked quite amusing in a giant pink fluffy coat to represent his district export of luxury. He looked me up and down with a smirk and I suddenly felt far too undressed, but I continued to shuffle along to the best of my ability in the skirt that practically stuck my legs together. After I had put it on I realised that it was made to resemble a fish tail and I was supposed to overall look like a mermaid. Problem is, mermaids can't walk and I was certainly struggling in the mermaid-esce outfit.

I was finally lead into a large room filled with horses, chariots, and the large majority of the tributes. Finnick spotted me and grinned, eagerly waving me over to where he and Jacob stood. I turned around to find that the Avoxes who had escorted me had disappeared. Somehow I managed to waddle my way over to where Finnich and Jacob were without tripping over and making a fool of myself, although it did take some time. I couldn't quite tell if people were staring at me for my awkward walk or for the way I looked, either way I was painfully aware that there were a lot of eyes on me.

After I finally reached the pair of boys I examined Jacobs outfit and I couldn't help but smile at how adorable he looked dressed as a little sailor, I knew better than to pull him into a bone crushing hug though as it would risk destroying our outfits and I'd rather not face the wrath of a disgruntled stylist.

"So much better than a fish." Finnick wolf whistled with a smirk, causing me to glare daggers at him. "You look incredibly hot." Jacob fake gagged at this and I let out a small giggle at his reaction, trying to ignore the comment he was reacting to.

A voice echoed through the room telling tributes to get any last second preparations out of the way and swiftly take their places on the chariots. Jacob clambered up onto our designated chariot easily but me… Not so much. It was hard enough to walk in the skirt, let alone climb. Desperately I looked around for Finnick to help me but to my dismay he had vanished. Jacob offered to try to help me up but I knew I weighed too much for his small stature.

"Need some help?" The voice sent shivers down my back that I couldn't quite explain. Turning around I saw the offer was from the District 2 male tribute. I didn't trust myself to talk, I just nodded. Within seconds his arms wrapped around me and he was lifting me up and in that moment I could have died happily. But then I remembered my situation and the fact that this guy was highly likely to actually kill me this time next week, so I tried to push away any shred of lust I felt towards him and put on a straight face.

"If you wouldn't mind." I replied, trying to seem as passive and nonchalant as I could while every inch of my body was literally screaming at me to pounce on him and beg him to ravish me. Without another word he wrapped an arm around my waist and hoisted my legs up, helping me up onto the chariot. I ignored the tingles I could feel at the bare skin of his arm touching the bare skin on my waist. "Thank you." My voice came out deeper and in a hoarse whisper due to my arousal. Cato simply smirked in response before returning back to his own chariot and I tried my best to forget what had just happened.

It felt like seconds later when the chariot took off and lead us past the cheering Capitol citizens. I had my arm around Jacob protectively like I had been told to while my head was held high and my face stayed void of emotions. Jacob blew kisses and waved at the crowd, Finnick had clearly been rubbing off on him. The crowds screamed our names louder than the rest and I bit back a smile knowing that our angle was clearly working and paying off. Roses and other flowers and trinkets showered us. I saw a small silver locket in the shape of a shell hanging off of the edge of the chariot and I picked it up, swiftly sticking it between my cleavage for safe keeping. Towards the end of the parade our names became lost amongst the other screams. Jacob gasped and I looked down at him to find him looking back. I cautiously risked a glance behind us and saw that at the end of the line the tributes were literally on fire. They didn't seem to be phased by it so I assumed it was intentional, that or they didn't yet know and would soon be in for the shock of their lives.

It felt like hours, although I knew it was only minutes, until the parade drew to a close with President Snow doing his usual speech which I drowned out. We were finally allowed off of our chariots and it was far easier jumping down than it had been climbing up considering I didn't need assistance.

The mentors met with their tributes to tell them how well they did or alternatively to tell them how terrible they were. Jacob and I waited patiently for Finnick to appear and I squeaked as I felt arms envelop me from behind.

"You were brilliant!" I recognised the smooth voice to be that of our mentors and I rolled my eyes. "People wouldn't stop screaming your names- well that was until they did stop and started cheering for District 12 but they were literally on fire so who can blame them?"

"Cool story. Put me down." I ordered as I could feel the air literally being squeezed out of me due to Finnick's excitement. He did so almost immediately and I went back to stand next to Jacob, once again placing a protective arm over his shoulder as I usually did. I somehow felt that if I did it enough it would somehow scare the other tributes off, but I knew deep down that it just showed them that he was my weakness. But unlike everyone else, I would embrace my weakness and if that so happened to be that I cared about this little boy's life then so be it. There were far worse weaknesses to have.

"You know it's not just the sponsors who have their eye on you." Finnick motioned over to someone behind me, I slowly looked over my shoulder and found myself in a sudden staring contest with the boy from District 2 and my heart performed flips. This was a dangerous situation and I knew I had to cut off any connection I felt with him as soon as I could, yet I continued the eye contact, raising an eyebrow as though I were daring him to be the first to break it. Somewhere behind me I heard Finnick mumble something about 'eye sex' but I ignored it.

"Billie!" I was suddenly aware again of Jacob's presence next to me as he tugged on my arm. "Finnick says it's time to go to the training centre and find our rooms!" I finally broke eye contact with Cato, annoyed that I was the one to give in first, but one look down at Jacob and the annoyance was gone and instead replaced with determination. Determination to not forget why I was here, determination to bring this boy back home. No one, not even a boy who is clearly well over 6ft and built like a god, would break that determination.

* * *

 ** _Art of Domenico now up on my tumblr!_**

 ** _This was intended to be a Reader X Cato story however it's against the rules of FFN. I have used the name Billie as it's simple however I won't give her much of a visual description so you can still imagine her as either yourself or your OC._**

 _ **I do not own The Hunger Games trilogy. All I own are my ideas and any original characters featured in this story.**_

 _ **Story also posted on Ao3 under the same title and the user "candlewriter"**_

 _ **Also find me on tumblr at "candlewriter" for updates on chapter progress, FAQ, fanart and more.**_


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